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Celebrities and iconic people throughout history get the privilege to have a replica of themselves preserved in many wax museums across the globe. Madame Tussauds is the most popular museum franchise that preserves pop culture through the art of sculpture. The process of creating a wax sculpture is quite interesting and requires skill and technique that only few can do. The process of creating a signature Madame Tussauds’ wax figure is normally three months.

Step 1 – Celebrity Data Collection

The first step is referred to as “sitting”. The celebrities meet with the artists for almost two hours while they collect their measurements, proportions, skin tone, and specific facial features that make that celebrity iconic. This is when they also take reference photos and even take hair samples!

Step 2 – The Skeleton

This is the drafting phase of the celebrity. The start with basic armatures and a clay face and begin creating the foundation for the sculpture. Artists ensure that even the bone and muscle structure are anatomically correct to the original person. The head sculpture can take up to six weeks with around 150g of clay.

Step 3 – Moulding

This step of the process takes 170 hours to complete. The original design is molded into plaster and cast with fiberglass. This also allows for replicas of the original sculpture to be recreated. An entire, full figure can weigh around 25 kg.

Step 4 – Hair!

Each individual strand of hair is strategically placed by hand. Eyelashes, eyebrows, and even beards are all individual punched into the wax/ This step can take up to four weeks to finish. Once every piece of hair is placed, it is then cut and styled.

Step 5 – Skin Tone

Oil paints are used to build up layers to create as realistic skin as possible. Almost 20 different skin colors go into creating a lifelike skin. This is when tattoos, freckles, and moles are painted on.

Step 6 – Clothes/Eyes/Teeth

In terms of clothing, many celebrities donate their own clothing for authenticity. If not, designers research and create historically accurate replicas. In addition, custom eyes and teeth are created for the sculpture as well. Sometimes, replica teeth are molded directly from the celebrity. Overall, creating teeth and eyes can take up to about 30 hours.

Step 7 – Finishing Touches

Once everything is put into place, the sculpture is then moved to a photography studio to be documented and critiqued. Each figure is maintained every week to ensure that is preserved in the best shape as possible.

The Beyer family truly enjoys visiting Madame Tussauds Wax Museums. It is a fun time seeing all of these celebrities duplicated through the art of wax. Some look almost identical to the real person! Here are some photos we took … Continue reading →